Pretoria: Eskom Group Chief Executive, Dan Marokane, has reiterated the power utility’s commitment to bolstering electricity generation as it focuses on bringing new capacity online and completing its maintenance.
According to South African Government News Agency, this announcement follows Eskom’s implementation of Stage 3 loadshedding from Friday until Monday. The loadshedding was necessitated by unplanned losses and the need to replenish emergency reserves over the weekend, alongside high levels of planned maintenance. Marokane emphasized the importance of new capacity, highlighting that Kusile unit 6 is nearing its final commissioning stages, with an expected synchronization to the grid by 18 March. Additionally, Medupi unit 4 is anticipated to be synchronized by the end of March and April.
Eskom’s maintenance plans are in full execution ahead of the winter season, aiming to ensure a more stable electricity supply and minimize the risk of loadshedding. Marokane noted the critical need for precision in maintenance execution, as returning units must remain online. Recent maintenance efforts saw a number of units delayed, resulting in approximately 1500MW of slippages contributing to unplanned unavailability.
The challenges were compounded by significant units like Koeberg being offline for over a week. Suboptimal coaling activity due to adverse weather conditions near Kusile further stressed the system. Marokane underscored the importance of disciplined maintenance execution to prevent substantial slippages.
Eskom’s unplanned capability loss factor rose from around 15,000MW midweek to 18,000MW by Friday, prompting the Stage 3 loadshedding. However, by Saturday morning, 3,200MW had been restored, including two units at Kusile. An additional 750MW was expected to return by Sunday, with the remaining 2,800MW anticipated by Monday morning, including Koeberg unit 2’s return, which has been offline since the previous Sunday.
Marokane concluded by affirming Eskom’s commitment to completing maintenance, extracting value from it, and preventing future slippages.